One in five female prisoners in Japan is senior, almost all of whom have been convicted of petty crimes like shoplifting. This is no accident. Elderly women in Japan are economically vulnerable. Half live below the poverty line. Many live by themselves and have no one to turn to for help. So there's a growing trend in Japan of elderly women deliberately committing petty crimes-- hoping to get caught so that they'll be sent to prison.

In prison, of course, they're fed, clothed, housed, and even have their health care covered by the state. It's a pitiful, last resort form of welfare that's likely going to become worse as Japan's already elderly population continues to age.

...

[Yet,] everything that Japan did back in the 70s and 80s to cause these long-term social and economic problems is EXACTLY what most of the West is doing now: printing money, keeping rates too low, inflating asset bubbles, going into debt, and acting like the good times will last forever.